Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones

I admit that I’ve been a bit of a chicken about trying gluten-free (GF) baking. Though I’m a relatively accomplished baker, the list of ingredients for many GF recipes left me quaking in my boots and I’ve studiously avoided it. Cooking GF for my sister has not been a problem because most things I cook are naturally GF, but I usually just ask her about what kinds of bread of whatever else she might need when she visits and just go out and buy it. Leave it to Shauna to get me out of my GF baking rut. She threw down a Thanksgiving GF baking challenge and how could I possibly say no?

But I was still a wee bit nervous.

So I decided to start simple and adapt our pumpkin scones recipe, which would make a delicious addition to the Thanksgiving breakfast table. I like to make Thanksgiving breakfast the night before so the morning gets off to an easy start, and it’s so refreshing to wake up with breakfast ready to go, especially since the rest of the day will be spent in and around the kitchen.

I found GF ingredients at Target. How easy was that?

For the scones, I used 2 cups of the GF baking flour and 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum, which is the replacement for gluten. The Bob’s Red Mill flour mix has garbanzo flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, sorghum flour, and fava flour, and is easy for a beginning GF baker to start with.

Mixing was a snap, no different from our regular recipe, though I did add a tablespoon of milk toward the end of mixing to pick up the loose bits of flour laying in the bottom of the bowl. The dough shaped nicely and baked up beautifully. From the exterior we couldn’t see any difference. The real test was in the tasting, and Michael gamely cut into one and took a bite, then another, and gave me a big look of surprise and said he couldn’t taste a difference. We could have done a blind taste test with the regular and GF scones and would have been challenged to tell which was which. Now I call that a successful first GF baking experience.

There’s a bunch of us participating in Shauna’s GF Thanksgiving challenge, so make sure you check out Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef for links to the other blogs. And thank you, Shauna, for the challenge! Between you and my fabulous sister I might actually get this gluten-free baking thing down.

And while you are over at Shauna’s blog, make sure you check out the incredible giveaway they are offering to get you started on gluten-free baking! Prizes include:

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth.

4. Pour the flour mixture into the large mixing bowl and add the raisins. Stir in the pumpkin mixture until large dough clumps form. Press it all together with a spatula, making sure you don’t have any loose bits of flour.

5. Flour your hands well. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and pat into an 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Brush milk on the top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mix.

6. Cut into 8 triangles and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

I was disappointed to see that this recipe used the Bob Mill’s Gluten-Free flour mix instead of something from scratch because I do not like this mix. My mom bought it and I have tossed everything she tried to make with it. She still won’t let me toss the rest of the flour. Even my three year old niece who is celiac turns her nose up at anything that has fava bean flour in it. I do not like anything with fava bean flour in it because it has such a bitter, metallic taste. I can smell the bean flour in baked goods before I even look at the ingredients. I can hardly believe that people can’t tell the difference between GF with fava bean and non-GF. It makes me wonder what was in the non-GF recipe!

I too, dislike the taste of bean flour in the UNCOOKED batters (no licking the bowl!)–however, it seems to totally or almost totally disappear in the cooked product. I would think it would be totally hidden by the spices in this recipe.

Also, I noticed that the picture of ingredients for this recipe shows Bob’s RM All Purpose Baking Flour but the recipe lists Bob’s All Purpose Baking MIX. Are these the same products or different ones?

I sometimes use Arrowhead Mills GF All Purpose baking MIX which in addition to the flours includes baking powder, baking soda, and 350 mg. of sodium per 1/4 c. serving (which is more sodium than I think is necessary). Since the scone recipe also includes baking powder, soda, I’m assuming you are not using a baking mix. Please clarify. Thanks.

I find that some people notice the fava bean/garbanzo bean in the Bob’s Red Mill flour immediately, and others don’t notice it all. I personally don’t like the mix, but I’ve used it before and others who tasted my baked goods didn’t notice it at all.

We love scones! The best part about this Gluten Free baking challenge is how flexible it can be. I also used Bob’s Red Mill gf flour mix in my recipe – mostly because this whole experience is new to me and I wanted to start with something easy. But for other people, Shauna has some great GF flour suggestions, most of which you can make yourself. Cooking is a great way to find what works for each of us personally. Thanks for sharing this great recipe (and the links to all of the participants!)

I’m so glad that you got over the hump of baking gluten free! You’ll find, as you start exploring different flours that it TOTALLY opens up your palette of flavors.

I’m not gluten free, but I bake gluten free a lot for friends of mine. That said, I have an enormous array of flours to use at my disposable. I buy them in bulk, and I find myself adding some buckwheat here or some mesquite flour there. Almond flour has worked it’s way into most of my baked goods as well, because it’s so flavorful and moist.

The more you bake, the more you’ll love all the different types of flours out there. And ALL your gluten free friends will love you for baking GF for them. Trust me. I have friends for life now because I can bake GF…

I’m so happy to hear that these turned out good. Admittedly, I was afraid to make something that was really a baked-good type of thing. After seeing everyone’s creations today, I’m ready to try something else out!

This makes me so happy. I just love all of you non-gluten-free types trying out gluten-free baking. Shauna and Danny continue to get the message out and build community and your participation means so much. We have three celiacs in our house and three different opinions about gluten-free flours and baked goods. We all have varying levels of taste sensitivity regarding the bean flours and varying levels of ability to digest grains and flours. It can be a tricky business, this gluten-free baking and that makes your efforts even braver. Thanks.

This is so lovely! I’m so glad that Shauna could get you out of your GF baking rut, because these look gorgeous! It’s always wonderful when you can’t tell the difference :). The great thing about trying out gluten-free flours is that it opens up so much possibility, not just with standby recipes but with new ones too. These scones look perfect for breakfast as the snow begins to fly :).

Andrea, These are Amazing! I made them this morning with my daughter and I had to stop from eating the whole batch. I would love to re-post your recipe on my blog, with my changes to the flour, is that ok with you? I’m new to blogging and am still learning blog etiquette. Congratulations on your first GF baking experience, it was a beautiful success!

Thank you very much! I hope you continue to make more GF baked goods, I love the Bob’s GF AP flour, I just like to play with my own flours too, super fun and can give things a whole different flavor by changing things out. Have a wonderful holiday and I look forward to trying some more of your recipes!

I love love love scones! And I love the idea of Thanksgiving breakfast. We’re always too frantic that morning to do anything ‘real,’ but what a great idea to plan ahead & have a special breakfast ready for us! I think I’ll be starting a new tradition this year. 😉

I know what you mean about being chicken – that is exactly what I was and then I bit off more then I could chew. I am not giving up through, going to try it again! May have to try these gorgeous scones.

My favorite mix is a basic rice/tapioca/potato starch, that I keep mixed up, then usually add some sorghum & coconut flours. I’ve been GF about 18 months (& 20# lighter) & love it! We had a GF TG at my grown daughter’s, & the offerings were delightful. I made a pumpkin pudding that I loved – I tend to go lighter on sweetening, & it turned out great.
Shauna & Danny offer such inspiration for trying new foods, & experimenting! I have both her book & their cookbook – the pumpkin soup is another favorite.

Hi Andrea, I just made these scones & they were lovely. More dense than regular ones but That is expected in gluten free baking. I found your site as I was searching for pumpkin scones using Bob’s GF flour & here they were! I don’t like this flour much for cookies and wanted to find a way to use it up. I have to say I couldn’t notice the bean taste in your scones & so I’m totally impressed by this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing your creation 🙂